A fly-on-the-wall series about Redcar’s young people will give an honest and positive portrayal, its producer says.

A film crew has spent all summer, and well into autumn, filming a three part BBC2 series to be shown next year.

It hasn’t even been named or edited yet - it only has the working title “Redcar”.

But producer John Douglas is confident it will prove a fascinating insight into the town’s 16 to 21 year-olds.

He said: “It’s that time when young people are trying to understand who they are and what they want to do with their lives.

“If you are 16, 18 or 21 and your family has been living in a place for generations, do you stay and give it a go or do you move away and look to opportunities further afield? In a nutshell, that’s the world we’re interested in - how today’s young people make their decisions about what they do next.

“We looked around the country for somewhere there might be some interesting stories - places that don’t get seen on TV very often and when they do, they aren’t always shown in a positive light.

Filming as-yet unnamed BBC2 series about young people in Redcar, to be shown in 2018 (Image: BBC)

“Obviously Redcar had its steelworks. We found grandads, dads, sons and daughters who’d worked at the steelworks and that was stopping - a really interesting time.

“Its industry was going so what were young people thinking about doing now in terms of opportunities and ambition?

“But we found an incredible amount of optimism and spirit in the town - and the town is still a very important place in their lives.”

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John, head of documentaries at 72 Films, has overseen some of the UK’s most popular documentary series, including 24 Hours in Police Custody and 24 Hours in A&amp;E.

And he says the Redcar project has been fulfilling for all involved.

“We’ve concentrated filming on 15 individuals, but not all of them will necessarily be involved in the final programmes.

“But they all felt they had something to say and they were at the point in their lives where they had to make important decisions.

Filming as-yet unnamed BBC2 series about young people in Redcar, to be shown in 2018 (Image: BBC)

“Some were ready to make those decisions, some weren’t.

“When we got to Redcar, we needed to build up trust with people - for them to understand we were making a film about aspiration and decisions.

“We met with a bit of ‘why do you want to do it in Redcar?’ There was always going to be a bit of suspicion initially but you’re asking people to trust you with their stories and the reputation of the town.

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“But we’ve been made incredibly welcome. And that, over time, meant we found more people who wanted to talk to us about their stories and lives.

“Redcar and maybe the North-east in general doesn’t often get the chance to have its voice heard. What’s been encouraging and positive is that people have got the chance to talk about their lives and they’ve taken it.

“Spending time in Redcar over the summer was quite amazing. Its coastline is beautiful and there was something really positive and warm about how the town felt.

Filming underway in Redcar (Image: BBC)

“There was a really lovely atmosphere and that makes film-making a pleasurable experience, and even changes the way people talk to you.

“And from the inception of the series, what’s never been intended is to portray Redcar in a negative light.

“For us, the important thing all along has been to make sure we hear those young people’s voices. Vibrant, ambitious, lively - that’s what we want to focus on.

“I hope it will be a warm and winning series which shows the people of Redcar as being kind enough to let us into their lives.”